I think the referees got the calls right. I don’t think it was a hard foul. I think the one involving LeBron against Boozer, that was flagrant. I think the officials got it right. I think that it’s almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating.

Backing up a bit, James lamented after Miami's loss that the fouls he felt the Bulls got away with were part of a larger, unfair trend. According to Michael Wallace of ESPN, LeBron cited specific fouls by Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson, saying they were "not basketball plays."

It’s been happening all year, and I’ve been able to keep my cool...but it is getting to me a little bit. Every time I try to defend myself, I’ve got to face the consequences of a flagrant or a technical foul or whatever the case may be. It’s tough. It’s very tough.

Objectively, James has a right to be frustrated.

The Bulls did what many other teams have done when faced with the inability to contain a superstar within the constraints of the rules: They played with serious, often illegal physicality. For decades, when teams have run out of ideas on defense, they've resorted to big hits and excessive contact.

Ask Michael Jordan how he feels about the Detroit Pistons' "Jordan Rules" of the late 1980s. What's happening to James is hardly new.

When you consider the heated history between Boston and Miami over the past few seasons and the sporadic verbal sniping that has been going on between the two clubs all year, it really isn't surprising that Ainge—a prominent representative of the salty Celtics and passionate competitor himself—would take a potshot at James when given the opportunity.

With a sound tongue-lashing from Miami's notoriously ruthless president and a dismissive response from James, Ainge might be wishing he'd just kept his mouth shut, though.